dez bryant injured today and out 4-6 weeks! I am glad we didn't draft this guy.complains and has a bad attitude, now injured.http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5424332

SAN ANTONIO -- Dallas Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant will be sidelined the rest of training camp and perhaps for the entire preseason with a right high-ankle sprain.

After the team announced that its first-round pick will miss four to six weeks, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones questioned whether Bryant should have been participating so late in Friday's practice session.

Bryant was injured on the second-to-last play of practice in the Alamodome.

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"It was really disappointing and it really causes you to ... ask what can you do, what can you do in practices that can mitigate some of the exposure to some of these injuries," Jones told ESPN's Chris Mortensen after watching footage of the injury. Jones did not attend Friday's practice.

Jones told Mortensen that Bryant might have been tired after a heavy workload, which included returning kickoffs and punts and running numerous routes with the first and second teams all week.

"The key thing is you ask yourself, 'Are we pushing him too hard; does it happen at the end of practice when the players are tired?' " said Jones, who added, "We all know now when you get a little tired you can get injured."

At practice earlier this week, Bryant tweaked his ankle and missed one or two reps while getting it retaped.

An MRI confirmed the team's fear of a high ankle sprain. Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones had expressed hope that Bryant, who had a spectacular start to training camp, would be out for only a few days or a week.

The Cowboys' top three picks are injured. Second-round linebacker Sean Lee has been sidelined since Tuesday with a strained quadriceps. Fourth-round safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, who had shoulder surgery in March, has not been cleared to practice yet.

The injury occurred after cornerback Orlando Scandrick broke up a pass intended for Bryant. Backup quarterback Jon Kitna threw the ball slightly behind Bryant on a crossing route, and Scandrick made a good play on the ball and landed on Bryant's leg.

Bryant, whom the Cowboys selected with the 24th overall pick after trading up three spots in the draft, stayed down on the Alamodome turf for several seconds. He tried to limp off the field, then went back down before being helped off the field by athletic trainers Jim Maurer and Britt Brown.

"I hope he just sprained his ankle," Scandrick said before the results of the MRI were announced. "He should be all right."

Bryant starred during the first several practices of training camp, making the Cowboys hopeful he could be a major contributor for a unit that was second in the NFL in total offense last season. He has made several spectacular plays and has displayed a decent grasp of the playbook despite missing a handful of offseason workouts with a variety of physical ailments.

Bryant will miss valuable practice and playing time as he tries to recover from his injury.

"You don't like them to miss," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "We do have an extra week [of training camp], which [Bryant] has taken advantage of, being here and learning all those things. He's actually done real well as far as assignments are concerned."

Bryant has been lining up with starters Miles Austin and Roy Williams in three-receiver sets, and the team is trying to develop chemistry between quarterback Tony Romo and the rookie.

"You're always concerned. It's the nature of our game," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "It's a very physical game and that happens a lot."

So far this low IQ prima donna has tweaked a hamstring, refused to carry pads and to humor a veteran, and now will miss key development stages in preseason. He has bust written all over him. These WRS who were great in college need to make that step, and some don't have it in them because they don't do the little things.Posted by russgriswold

And ? Mccourty hasn't done anything either. He might get hurt as well. Football being a physical game and all. Is this supposed to be some type of "+1" for the pats ?Posted by rochfan

Nope, and in NO way am I cheering injuries... Simple point is NOT in a comparison with Dez vs McCourty, It's what Russ explained and even further: It's a rookie's willingness to go above and beyond what's expected of him in Each ad ALL of the little and most miniscule things: On field, Off field...everywhere. Moreso, It's an extremely highly touted Rookie's willingness to shed some ego, and to understand that he has done NOTHING yet in the pros and he CANNOT go-it-alone, without his team, and vets on that team- Getting his back and helping him to show the way in order to best succeed... And Y-E-S, this DOES absolutely translate to missing time with an injury.

Q: IF a highly touted and high profile NFL Rookie, who has done nothing whatsoever in the Pros, has a couple of really Excellent practices, YET one whom has questions of prior self-entitled character flaws AND He has already SHOWN a glimpse of this selfish prima dona behavior- Gets INJURED early on in Training Camp = ARE His Teammates and ARE those Veterans going to FULLY get his back?

And I MEAN: Are his teammates gonna stick up for him when that Rookie's working his way back from the injury? Get his back under Intense Media Scrutiny? Get his back IF and WHEN there's some OTHER "situation" whiich unfortunately might befall Dez Bryant (some unfortunate off-field incident, some on field incident with another team giving Bryant a cheap shot, or even if and when Bryant unfortunately has another seemingly minor muscle tweek in the near future); Are the coaches and Teammates gonna Get his back as MUCH as a completely selfless "Team-Player" doing EVERYthing that he's asked?

...Well, IF you're lookin for your answer?....Just simply look back at the article to see how many players were apparently there to help Bryant off the ground and then off the field, After he got injured here.

I couldnt agree more w/ Russ ... And have been saying the samething about WRs for years. The difference between the talent , scheme , skill etc. in college and in the pros is huge and cant be overstated. Just think about how many WRs were worth drafting in the first round in your life time. And think about how many actually lived up to the height in their rookie season. Its a very short list , Moss had the best rookie year , then Q and he wasnt even drafted in the first. Its an extremely difficult position to grade-out and project. The overall scheme in the NFL is just much tougher and the talent level is just off the charts. We're talking about some of the best athletes to ever walk the Earth. Sure Bryant has crazy skills , but so did the last 25 bust that came and quickly got burned out of the league. I never had a problem w/ his " off the field " issues. I have a problem believing he can be a true number one WR. He dropped some big balls in college at key times. Never was a great or even good route runner and most importantly to me , never showed the ability to run anything besides our basic 9 route/Go route. Never showed the ability to work anywhere near the middle of the field and Im not just talking about close crossing patterns , comebacks etc. Its the samething when he goes deep , either right along or outside the numbers. I just never saw anything close to a complete WR. And if you think about it theres probably only 8-12 real , legitimate #1 WRs in the league right now. I dont think the number was much higher 15-20 years ago either. I have always made the arguement that a true #1 WR is the second and sometimes most important player on the field besides the QB. I would put the LT right behind them because , IMHO you dont need a " great " LT to have a " great " team ". Guys like Moss , Rice , Harrison , Irvin , Reed , Carter etc. are extremely rare and can do things no other player on the field can.

"Just think about how many WRs were worth drafting in the first round in your life time. And think about how many actually lived up to the height in their rookie season."

For future reference or just an FYI one-time, It's "Lived up to the Hype" not "Height". Although, I could see the burden, where a lanky 6'4, sorta uncoordinated d#rky guy, Can't play B-Ball in HS and's too skinny for FootBall, and all the girls don't really wanna slow dance with him at a schooldance, because it'd look sorta like a freakshow...the 6'4 g#ek, spendin every night awake, praying over again- Just to be an average run-a-the-mill Midget, So he could blow-the world away with his even minor successes and ability to overcome any obstacle in his path (except, well-probably being good at basketball still)...

In the meantime,Taylor Price has been getting rave reviews. He was drafted in, what, the fourth round? He's been putting in the work and he seems like a solid young man from watching the draft interview with him.

Anybody want to bet we get more out of this guy (this year) than the Cowboys get out of Bryant?

When are teams going to learn to stay from guys with character issues. For every Randy Moss there are ten Chad Jacksons. Not that Jackson was ever that hyped. But if a guy comes out of college with questionable work ethic and maturity, he should be avoided like the plague. It's just not worth the gamble. More often than not, it's a losing proposition.

In the meantime,Taylor Price has been getting rave reviews. He was drafted in, what, the fourth round? He's been putting in the work and he seems like a solid young man from watching the draft interview with him. Anybody want to bet we get more out of this guy (this year) than the Cowboys get out of Bryant? When are teams going to learn to stay from guys with character issues. For every Randy Moss there are ten Chad Jacksons. Not that Jackson was ever that hyped. But if a guy comes out of college with questionable work ethic and maturity, he should be avoided like the plague. It's just not worth the gamble. More often than not, it's a losing proposition.Posted by dafoe

Hmm Randy Moss didn't have character issues.?? Not the way I remember it. If Bryant was on the Patriots team maybe his behavior would be totaly different. and if you watch the play he was fighting to get the ball, playing hard, isn't that what we want from all our players. 100% effort.

So far, I wonder about his mental strength for staying on the field. Aug, hot, humid, pads, ooppss tweaked a hammy, ooppss tweaked an ankle, think I'll take the summer off.Next, he loses the season after one of his eyebrows falls out.Just thinking if I'm Jerry J., I'd start to get a bit nervous.

In Response to Re: Dez Bryant : Hmm Randy Moss didn't have character issues.?? Not the way I remember it. If Bryant was on the Patriots team maybe his behavior would be totaly different. and if you watch the play he was fighting to get the ball, playing hard, isn't that what we want from all our players. 100% effort.Posted by NEGAME

In Response to Re: Dez Bryant : Nope, and in NO way am I cheering injuries... Simple point is NOT in a comparison with Dez vs McCourty, It's what Russ explained and even further: It's a rookie's willingness to go above and beyond what's expected of him in Each ad ALL of the little and most miniscule things: On field, Off field...everywhere. Moreso, It's an extremely highly touted Rookie's willingness to shed some ego, and to understand that he has done NOTHING yet in the pros and he CANNOT go-it-alone, without his team, and vets on that team- Getting his back and helping him to show the way in order to best succeed... And Y-E-S, this DOES absolutely translate to missing time with an injury. Q : IF a highly touted and high profile NFL Rookie, who has done nothing whatsoever in the Pros, has a couple of really Excellent practices, YET one whom has questions of prior self-entitled character flaws AND He has already SHOWN a glimpse of this selfish prima dona behavior- Gets INJURED early on in Training Camp = ARE His Teammates and ARE those Veterans going to FULLY get his back? And I MEAN: Are his teammates gonna stick up for him when that Rookie's working his way back from the injury? Get his back under Intense Media Scrutiny? Get his back IF and WHEN there's some OTHER "situation" whiich unfortunately might befall Dez Bryant (some unfortunate off-field incident, some on field incident with another team giving Bryant a cheap shot, or even if and when Bryant unfortunately has another seemingly minor muscle tweek in the near future); Are the coaches and Teammates gonna Get his back as MUCH as a completely selfless "Team-Player" doing EVERYthing that he's asked? ...Well, IF you're lookin for your answer?....Just simply look back at the article to see how many players were apparently there to help Bryant off the ground and then off the field, After he got injured here.Posted by LazarusintheSanatorium

Were you expecting some type of "Gladiator" ceremony taking him off the field ?

Jerry Jones speaking to the crowd. "He was a soldier of Dallas..honor him !"Wade Phillips..."Who will halp me carry him ?"Later that night DeMarcus Ware went to the practice field and buried the little Dez figure in the practice field..and said..."I will join you soon..but not yet..not yet. "

In Response to Re: Dez Bryant : Hmm Randy Moss didn't have character issues.?? Not the way I remember it. If Bryant was on the Patriots team maybe his behavior would be totaly different. and if you watch the play he was fighting to get the ball, playing hard, isn't that what we want from all our players. 100% effort.Posted by NEGAME

No, Randy Moss did have "character" issues. So much so that Kraft reportedly took him off the Pats draft board. But that was my point. Moss turned out to be a pretty good player. I'm saying he's the exception.That a lot of times when you make that gamble, you are going to lose.

And Dallas is a veteran team. So I really don't see New England being any different. They obviously have stronger coaching. They would probably ride him a bit harder. There might be more accountability. He might be forced to play along. But once he got comfortable he would start being a punk. You are what you are.

And I didn't see the play. One play doesn't make an entire practice though. Even if he was playing hard, the guy has an attitude problem. And even if they could get that in check, you can't fix stupid. That is usually a fatal flaw in football.

And one more thing on the "Patriots can reign this guy in" philosophy that seems to be so prevelant here. They couldn't reign in Chad Jackson. Either a guy is willing to buy into the program, work hard and swallow a little ego or they aren't. I think Belichick gets a little too much credit for guys like Moss and Dillon. They came here looking to win. So it worked. You can't sell something to someone who isn't buying.

" Just think about how many WRs were worth drafting in the first round in your life time. And think about how many actually lived up to the height in their rookie season ." For future reference or just an FYI one-time , It's "Lived up to the Hype" not "Height". Although, I could see the burden, where a lanky 6'4, sorta uncoordinated d#rky guy, Can't play B-Ball in HS and's too skinny for FootBall, and all the girls don't really wanna slow dance with him at a schooldance, because it'd look sorta like a freakshow...the 6'4 g#ek, spendin every night awake, praying over again- Just to be an average run-a-the-mill Midget, So he could blow-the world away with his even minor successes and ability to overcome any obstacle in his path (except, well-probably being good at basketball still)... Posted by LazarusintheSanatorium

Were you expecting some type of "Gladiator" ceremony taking him off the field ? Jerry Jones speaking to the crowd. "He was a soldier of Dallas..honor him !" Wade Phillips..."Who will halp me carry him ?" Later that night DeMarcus Ware went to the practice field and buried the little Dez figure in the practice field.. and said..."I will join you soon..but not yet..not yet. "Posted by rochfan